The “Medicine Man” turned to be a misnomer, both in that they turned out to be more of an all-purpose magical tech support type of presence moreso than anything medical, and in that she turned out to be a woman. A very tall woman who’s frankness and clear and apparent skill made her quite formidable. Alicia liked her from moment one, when she landed just outside the harts of Camp, appearing to all the world as some mythical itinerant sea monster.

At first, Alicia wasn’t sure of what she was seeing, as some sort of comet of rags appeared to fly down from the outer layer of hollow rock spheres, faster than you’d expect a human to move but somewhat slower than your average comet.
Once the newcomer came closer, and Alicia could make out more details, her perspective of them shifted, now more akin to some kind of strange aquatic creature, the kind you see living at extreme depths, either long extinct or some kind of evolutionary black sheep whose closest extant relative invariably was an obscure variant of sea slug or perhaps some incredibly unusual coral. Once the comet-sea creature made a turn over the central hearth and proceeded to land, Alicia realized what she had suspected all along, that she was dealing with a human, or at least humanoid sapient of some sort, albeit one dressed in unusual clothes. The clothes were hard to describe, and unfair as the connotations were, it was hard to fully escape the “comet of rags” description that had crossed Alicia’s mind early on. The newcomer wore multiple layers, or so it seemed, of cloaks, most of them split apart into strips of varying thickness. There was an intentionality to it, or so Alicia assumed, as she could ill imagine what kind of trouble this person got into that’d mar their multiple layers with such reliability without utterly destroying whoever was under it.
The newcomer’s landing was also strange but impressive to Alicia, in part because it looked for the longest time like they weren’t going to land, merely skip across the ground like a flat stone over water, until, at the very last moment, they turned in the air, extended long, strong, elegant legs to brake their movement.
Alicia was aware that she was the only one staring, as the other inhabitants of Camp seemed content to let this unusual arrival pass without comment or even observing past a casual glance. Back on Earth, Alicia would probably be a bit self-conscious about going googly-eyed like this, but things were different in Thereafter, or in the void outside of Thereafter in this case. It was mostly that she knew as an earthling and actual slayer of an actual dragon, people thought she was a bit unusual from the word go, so it didn’t much matter if she allowed herself to be less than perfectly blasé about everything.
The strange new arrival shook, like a dog ridding itself of water, and one by one a pair of arms emerged, brushing aside the layers of cloth stripes like wayward hair. Now standing, Alicia had to assume, like a regular person, it was clear she, and Alicia was less confident in this but still willing to put her money on “some sort of lady” for now, was very tall for a human. Alicia wasn’t great at estimating height, but it would not surprise her a second if the new arrival was taller than 7 feet.
The many layers of tatters parted to reveal a pale oval face with large dark eyes, while it was hard for Alicia to entirely discard the slight similarity between the new arrival and a Roswell-style alien, it was similarly hard to deny that they were gorgeous. The new arrival chatted briefly by one of the elders by the hearth before heading straight for Alicia and Lia, who had found themselves waiting by “their” rock sphere after breakfast.
“Greetings, people of the Shining Star” The newcomer greeted them with a wide wave. It was perhaps some kind of local variant on diver hand communication, with the exasperation of movement meant to carry better through the darkness of the void. “I am told you understand us, but that the stuff you’ve got working isn’t two-way Am I correct in this?”
Alicia raised her hand.
“They also told me that means yes, so either we’re getting somewhere or a series of unfortunate coincidences have occurred in order to trick me specifically to rant wildly at someone who does not understand me. Would not be the first time, but it happening twice would seem rather unlikely don’t you think?”
Alicia raised her hand somewhat more hesitantly.
“Ah, ok, the odds are now very low this is all random. Good. This magic effect, it’s from the accessory you both wear I assume?”
Alicia looked down on the void pearl pinned on her shirt.
“Right. And it also provides breathable air so it’s not like I can just borrow the thing for a few minutes to get a closer look?”
Alicia affirmed with raising her hand.
“Right, right,” the wisewoman put her palms together in front of her face and created a sinous wave-motion by wiggling her fingers in sync. It was a distracting feat that Alicia nonetheless had to assume aided her concentration somehow. “Let’s see… Miss… uh, what are your names?”
“Alicia,”
“Lia,” they introduced themselves.

“Ok, Alicia, am I saying that right? Ah what am I saying if the translation works the way I think it does it’ll sound like I’m saying it right no matter how I actually fuck it up, so never mind that. Alicia, would you be willing to lend me your pearl for a bit if I can secure breathable air in another way?
Alicia hesitated, but she raised her hand. It wasn’t so much the fear that this lady, whose name she still didn’t know, would steal or damage her pearl, it just seemed perilous to part with it, even temporarily. Alicia fully understood where that came from. It was by the grace of this strange darker-than-black thing that she had survived thus far. Even if she got home this instance, if she opened her eyes after blinking to find herself smack dab in the middle of Thereafter, she doubted she’d feel comfortable taking the thing off for a few hours, if not a few days. Still, that persistently realistic part of her brain did reason that if they were to bridge this half-gap in communication, someone had to understand how the pearls worked. Alicia raised her hand.
“Lovely, let me just…” The wisewoman started searching her cloak, as if searching for a pocket or pouch she wasn’t entirely sure where was. “Ah, here it is.” She retrieved what appeared to be a piece of chalk, or something very chalk-like from somewhere within her many layers of cloak.
“My name is Ik, by the way,” Ik introduced herself as she squatted down and started drawing a circle filled with intricate patterns around herself and Alicia. “Well, my full name is longer than that, but it’s a hassle to remember it, and it’s not like I need to the call of the tribe any more anyway… a bit of dark humor there but we all handle these things differently right? Anyway, Ik’s fine. Iki if you want to get formal with me but honestly I don’t do formal,” As Ik chatted, the circle filled up with symbols that looked very rune-like to Alicia. “So it’s all what feels comfortable to you I guess. Hold on for a second” Ik stuck a thumb in her mouth and pushed against a sharp canine. It was a slightly awkward motion, but with what appeared to be some determination she managed to pierce the skin on her thumb on the sharp, possibly sharpened incisor. “There we go. They say I was born to do this because my canines are on the sharp end and my skin’s not too thick. I say it’s a fortunate coincidence and it’s more important that I’m a nerd about this kind of thing,” Ik went on while smearing the small drop of blood that had gathered on her thumb over one of the rune-symbols. “But I don’t believe in fate so that’s hardly surprising, right? Anyway, that should be it,” Ik rose back up to her full height, the contrast quite noticeable as her long limbs had made for a very deep squat. “You can try taking off your pearl now. Just detach it from your person for now, and let’s see if my circle’s up to snuff.”
Alicia took a deep breath, then another, as if she was preparing to dive into water, and once she felt confident enough to make the leap, she pulled the void pearl off her shirt. The vital piece of jewelry came loose after a bit of resistance, hinting to Alicia that it was in some way made to stay attached a bit tighter than what its physical properties would allow. With the pearl off her person, the world seemed subtly, but unmistakably different, like her ears had popped and now her sense of hearing was muted somewhat.
Ik said something. Alicia had no idea what. Not only did she sound like her voice came from far away, it was also, unmistakably in another language. Ik spoke again, Alicia understood equally as little as last time, although her tone had a bit of a “oh yeah forgot about that part”-type of tone to it. Lia said something too, her voice way more guttural than Alicia was used to hearing it. This, she realized, would have to be how people sounded without the translation field. Ik blinked a few times and responded to Lia in similar tones. The two, apparently, spoke at least a bit of the same language. Ik held out a hand, and Alicia remembered the purpose of this entire exercise. With the plunge of taking the void pearl off now taken, Alicia felt no hesitation in handing it to Ik.
Ik kept talking as she examined the pearl, even without understanding what she said, Alicia recognized the tone of a nerd figuring out nerd things, it reminded her of Lex, and she yet again felt a pang of longing. In some ways, Ik acted like some unholy hybrid of Lex and Felipe, combining Lex’ considerable intelligence with Felipe’s plain and evident charisma. It was an attractive combination of traits to be sure, but Alicia also couldn’t help wanting to see the dorks again. Her dorks. That kind of thinking kept Alicia busy for a bit as Ik worked, and the thought of whether she was imagining things or if the air the rune circle provided tasted slightly metallic somehow. It could very well be a trick of perception, there was a difference in the experience of using the two methods, Alicia just wasn’t sure if she could put it into words just yet.
About the time when Alicia got to questioning whether it truly is possible to explain the subjective experience of experiencing something to anyone, a not-uncommon but usually unproductive question her brain got into if she left it alone for long enough, Ik handed the pearl back, and Alicia found herself rushing to pin it back on. Once it was safely back on her shirt and the low-volume high-pitch whine that Alicia only noticed when it was gone, had ceased, Alicia felt her pulse calm down, and a lot of tension she wasn’t aware she was holding released.

“Oh, that feels good,” Alicia sighed in relief.
“Are you OK, Alicia?” Lia asked, clear concern in the voice Alicia now heard as the same low alto that she always heard it.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Alicia said. “I think I vastly prefer the bead to the rune circle is all.”
“Right, as I was saying back when you probably didn’t understand me…” Ik said. “This translation spell is a mess, but a very fascinating mess… would love to meet the weirdo who put it together, I’m sure that chance will present itself eventually. Now I’m betting you’re wondering if I can make it so that I can understand you in the way you understand me?”
Alicia and Lia both raised their hands.
“I thought so,” Ik said. “Well the bad news is that I probably won’t be able to do that, at least not on a general basis, since we don’t have any equivalent spells running here. We have The Language instead, it’s a bit of a messy thing, but not too hard to learn for most folk, well I say that but I grew up with it, but then again I DO teach it. I was the only one who did around here for a good long while but we’ve got some decent tutors on the basics now… anyway this was a digression. I don’t think I’ll be able to expand the spell like I hoped, but I should be able to put together a few bracelets that interface with your stuff in a day or so, the runes for it wouldn’t be horribly complicated, though there is some risk of interference with the hearth runes, so I would have to be mindful. We’ll live through the hearth going out just fine, although hearing the rest of this place talk you’d think The Unmaking was coming back at the thought of it, well, can’t blame people for getting a bit superstitious right? Anyway, better if I don’t futz with it too much, so I’ll take the extra work it is to clear up that interference. I must say, I am excited at the prospect at being able to talk with you two properly. We’re all very curious what’s going on with the Shining Star, and how come you’ve managed to get all the way out here.” The curiosity, Alicia noticed, was something she shared. Sure, getting to actually explain things to their hosts seemed nice, but Alicia was also dying to ask some followup questions. She raised her hand, it seemed proper.
“So it sounds like we’ll have to wait a bit,” Alicia said.
“Yeah,” Lia grumbled. “I am getting quite tired of it being one-way out here. I see why they ended up inventing a new language instead. It’s probably what we should’ve done.”
“Perhaps,” Alicia shrugged. “But it must be challenging to come up with enough sounds for everyone to be able to speak it without problems. The translation field sure makes onboarding a breeze.”
“Anyway, I should get to work,” Ik said. “You two should… grab some food if you’re hungry, maybe get a quick fuck in, I don’t know, I’m going to nerd out about this whole thing for a bit.” Thus having planted a high yield explosive of awkwardness with the same apparent ease she had drawn the rune circle, Ik rose and left, bouncing along the wall of rock spheres to a particularly round one which she entered with the grace of a trapdoor spider.

The silence between Lia and Alicia could have filled canyons. Alicia felt a desperate need to dismiss Ik’s second suggestion without acknowledging it any, but she could not find the words that would do it without making a mockery of the two of them, whatever they actually were to each other. It was difficult, and the fact that she found it so difficult only made it harder.
“She’s an odd one…” Lia said at last, her tone dry in a way that told Alicia that she had gone through a similar chain of thoughts, albeit perhaps with more proficiency. She was, after all, a grown woman, and surely had more experience with this kind of awkwardness than Alicia, who felt like a clumsy oaf in facing anything of the sort.
“Odd, yes,” Alicia agreed. “But I like her. I hope she can figure something out so we can talk properly with these people.”
“She will,” Lia’s statement wasn’t exactly optimistic, but there was a degree of certainty to it. “I don’t understand the runes she use, but if it’s at all possible to connect to the translation field, she’ll make it work.”
“So it’s just not me who think she’s basically the coolest, huh?”
“I recognize excellence when I see it,” Lia’s tone had what was possibly a note of dismissal in it “That’s all.”
“If you say so,” Alicia felt an edge in her voice, but she couldn’t quite puzzle out from where it came from. “Anyway isn’t it about time for lunch, you figure?”
“I’m not familiar with this lunch tradition, but now would be a good time for food,” Lia agreed, and thus an unspoken peace deal was brokered.
Alicia couldn’t help but wonder why a peace deal was necessary in the first place, and she could not, however much she tried, ignore that things had been at least amicable until Ik had talked about sex, at which point things had soured almost immediately. She was no mind reader nor a fortune teller, but this surely was an ill omen for things to come.

Author’s Note: Ah, I do love introducing a weirdo character, if that wasn’t immediately obvious from this chapter. I also love poking at my characters with a stick like I’m Sam Raimi and we’re filming a Bruce Campbell joint. We’re also getting to the end of our “the characters can understand but not be understood”-arc, which comes as somewhat of a relief, since I am ACHING to share a bit more worldbuilding about this whole place, and that is so much easier once my characters can ask followup questions. So, tune in next time for that!

VSD